Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7-08 pet load?

Yeah, the 7-08 can for sure be an "equal opportunity" round, shoots a lot of combos very well.

DF

Wife's starting load in an A-bolt Micro 20" barrel was 139gr Interlock over 48g H4350. Killed nicely and recoil was bigly bearable. Later I drank the 120gr Ballistic Tip kulade and having traded into a bunch loaded them up over 40gr RL15. She shot only one buck so far; quartering to at 60 to 70 yds with bullet entering base of the neck and blasting a big hole where part of the neck spine used to be. Whatever was left of the bullet stayed there along with many bone fragments and I suppose bullet fragments though they were vaguely identifiable. Total penetration 5" or so. However statistical data was gathered from a very dead deer. Still didn't quite like the results.

This year we have been able to evaluate 2 more bucks downed with the 7-08 120 BT combination. Wife's load was still the 40 gr RL15 and with it she downed a 125lb spike buck due to mistaken identity in the thick stuff. Broken shoulder above elbow on entry and exit thru off shoulder without hitting bone. No bullet material recovered. Deer down on the spot with but a wiggle. Finally I managed to blood the Model 7 Stainless I've had for a while on a 155 lb buck. Chasing a doe past my ladder stand at about 15 feet and I finally caught up with him at around 20 yards quartering sharply away and slightly downhill. 120 BT and 45gr Varget. Bullet entered just right of the spine several inches behind the last rib. Though no bone was hit, that last rib was blown off about an inch and a half off the spine. Around 4 or 5 inches of loin was just gone. A couple inches of steaks fore and aft of the void were severely shredded. The stomach caught whatever remained of the bullet. Lungs were on what should have been the bullet tract but showed signs only of shrapnel wounds, and precious few of them. So far what this experience had told me is that the 120 BT acts best at less than max velocity in a 7-08. However, this particular deer moved little after he stopped tumbling. Many have flown from the barrels of such things as the 7'm Mag but I personally would not care to use headstamps with that velocity potential. This kill was just nasty. Impact side from shoulder to ham was bloodshot in addition to the muscle damage described. In addition this admittedly small sample has shown gut material to be a real obstacle to penetration.

But I really like the little rifle I'm using. Had some 120gr TSX bullets bought just before the tipped version was released. Somehow an example had never been bloodied. Figgering on a load that would approximate velocity of the BT/Varget being used, I loaded 48g of CFE223 under the TSX. Seems I recently read JB's comment on a slight distrust of the small hollow point on the TSX and other monometals without a "tip" of some sort added. Looking over the .284 TSXs I had the same feeling. In the interest of scientific experimentation I decided to use the factory hollow point as a pilot hole. Using a 1/16' drill bit with a marker tape 1/4' up from the tip I just drilled them out a bit. Enlarging the hollow point shaft shortened the bullet a bit beyond the 1/4" depth marker but to seemingly no detriment.

Shortly thereafter I had the opportunity to field test the modified Barnes. An old grey faced, wide 4 pt with no brow tines, but 150 lbs of body weight made me an offer I couldn't refuse. At 75 yardish I knew when the trigger broke I was a little forward. Performance was crazy. The entry point on the near shoulder bone was wide and filled with small bone fragments and bone meal. Most plumbing was removed from the top of the heart before continuing on to carve an X in the chest wall exit including a rib. The offside shoulder bone was pretty much a duplicate of the onside with the addition of one petal from the bullet being recovered. Buck made one lunge, collapsed, twiddled his tail a couple times and called it a day. Meat damage and bloodshot area was much less than with the 120 Ballistic Tip though bone destruction was in a different class. Soooo.....in my little world we will continue to use the 120 BT at a mid to low velocity load in my wife's rifle. But for the Model 7 the modified 120 TSX has made a real impression on me and I will continue with them until the 25 or so left are gone.

Circling back to the Pet Load bit I'd have to say the 139 Interlock over 48 or so gr of H4350 will be a hard act to beat if we consider performance, accuracy, and economy. Tough combination. Averaging in my son's success with his red pad 77 in 7x57 the 140 Accubond certainly has to be respected. Pretty hard to find a truly bad bullet powder combination for hunting in the 120 to 160 gr bullet weight range using proven powders. Dang nice round and some dang nice rifles to house it.

Just killed a doe with this load. In and out thru chest. Exit hole not that large. She ran 30 yds. Good blood sign, although didn’t need to track.

Will report internal damage from skinning shed.

DF

Massive internal damage, small entrance, larger exit with hematoma.

Good WT bullet.

DF

Good for you.
Sounds like you had a good day hunting.

I did.

Shot that doe at the last minutes of legal light. I had to crank the 3-9x40 Conquest down to around 5 power to pick up enough light to see. It was too dim at higher power. Conquest plex reticle is great, easy to see in dim light. I had a good rest in the box stand, got off a solid shot. I couldn’t see anything as the gun recoiled. Walked right to the deer, 30-40 yds in the woods. She’s now hanging in the cooler.

Gonna get up in the morning early, get on a double seat tree stand overlooking a bayou.

Morning hunts generally not as good as evening hunts. But ya can’t kill anything sitting at the camp. Maybe a hog will get unlucky. Got something for him.

DF

I recently drug a SC made M70 Fwt 7-08 out of the safe where it had been hidden for several years. It's a little on the temperamental side and I had been concentrating on my 250 Savages and 257 Roberts for a while, so it took a back seat. I had taken a few deer with the 120 BT and 139 Hornady flat base over Varget with good results when I first got it. After reading Pharmsellers results with Big Game and Mag primers I tried them with the 120s with good results, but then put it up.
I got to wondering about the 139 Horn load so I worked up to 47 gr Big Game with some old Wolf Magnum primers and after playing with seating depth a bit found a winner. Last two 3 shot groups were 3/4" and 7/8". Yes I know it's 3 shots, but that's good enough for this ol man.
Thinking about taking it along on an upcoming hog hunt.

As one can see from this thread, the 7-08 is a very versatile round. To me it’s about ideal for general hunting. I like mine.

DF

I killed 9 deer this year, all but 2 have been killed with my 7-08 with either a 120 BT or 150 eld x.

Last years buck was with factory 120 NBT. Similar performance as the 140 SGK HPBT, pass thru with good internal destruction and blood. The SGK may have been a bit more destructive, big hematoma at exit wound, not much at entrance. Handloaded SGK a tad more accurate. Factory 120 NBT, MOA. 140 SGK half MOA.

DF

We have been thinning the does cause TWRA wants to take glands and checking for CWD. So far we have 332 positives for CWD in Tennessee. It's not looking good but so far on my lease we don't have any positives.
With a liberal limit I can test several bullets for performance and the 120 BT and 150 eld x have been tops. This is the last weekend and I'm headed out this afternoon with my 7-08.
From my experience the SGK is also awesome on deer especially if you're using subpar caliber like a 243 where exit holes tend to be smaller. 100 gr SGK in a .243 is poison.

I’m wanting to get a ballistic tape for my Conquest elevation turret. I need to settle on a bullet and load. Contenders are 120 NAB at 3K fps, the 140 SGK HPBT and 150 NPT, all of which shoot well in this gun

Trajectories will be different. Gotta decide which one I’ll be happiest with for WT’s and hogs.

Decisions, decisions. Enough to drive a Loony, loony.

Ha!

DF

The first centerfire rifle I bought for my son was a 7-08 when he turned 9. He is almost 23 now and will often break out the 7-08 because it flat out works. He has killed a truck load of deer and hogs with the 95gr BT over 45 grs of Varget. Never caught a bullet. We are getting 2990 fps out of a 20" barrel.

We shot steel plates with it out to 550 yards. It is an off the shelf Browning micro medallion. No modifications.

I just bought an older Rem Varmint Master with the heavy 24" barrel in 7-08. His rifle sure sold me on that cartridge.

I’m leaning toward setting up the Conquest turret for 140 SGK HPBT. It’s not the fastest or flattest shooting but is the most accurate. And for chest shooting WT’s probably the most expansive. Will work on hogs. Not the most popular but I like it. And most shots are 200 yds or less. The turret will allow longer shots if needed on hogs and such out to 400 or so. Would not shoot a deer that far. I have other rifles for LR stuff, this one for general hunting locally.

DF

The 140 SGK HPBT is my bullet of choice in the 7mm-08. I actually like it WAY more than the 140 NBT, and I’m a big fan of the NBTs as a whole.

DF, for your needs I think your choice is perfect!

tag

Thanks for your experience and opinion. It confirms my thinking.

In a few minutes, I'm gonna wrap cubed tenderloin, jalapeno and cream cheese with bacon and grill, courtesy of a 140 SGK HPBT..

Meat on this fat, 120# doe looks really good. The rest of it is on ice in my truck, headed for the processor tomorrow.

I've kept meat on ice for several days. Coming from NM with pronghorns, we'd drain the water and add ice periodically. This deer was in the cooler over night, meat was cold when it went in the ice. Not that much water to drain.. Pronghonrs went in the ice chest right after skinning. We always take ice chests full of ice when we hunt them. Skin'em quick, cool'em quick and you have great meat. "Stink goat" not in my vocabulary. Us Cajuns do know how to take care of meat.

DF

Put a VX 3, 2.5-8 with B&C reticle on my 7-08.
Shot it Saturday.
1st shot from bore sighting is on the right. Moved too far, but moved back right after group.
Happy with group from 140 gr Accubonds, and a max charge of H4350.

How you like that B&C reticle?

I had a Swaro 6-18 with TDS reticle that I used pronghorn hunting. With 2nd focal plane, you gotta be at max power for it to be accurate, unless you want to do some calculations. I had problems with that scope at 18 power, holding steady enough to shoot that goat. Finally got him at near 400 yds.

When I got home, I sold that scope, went to turrets. Maybe your max power of 8X would be OK.

Just wanting your take. Ballistic reticles can be faster than turrets, for sure. Most time, I can adjust holdover, unless at longer range, then I usually have time to twist.

DF

The B&C reticle or DLR reticle serves me well. Here lately I tend to like the DLR reticle better on a 6x42, it's quick and very handy. Killed 9 deer using it this year from
ranging from 50-400 yds.